Karen Mcbroom

The Death of a Rose Karen Mcbroom

It is 1941 in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, and sixteen-year-old Katarina is overflowing with excitement for the day ahead. As she opens the birthday gift her father has left for her, Katarina gasps in wonderment as she gazes at the tiny, carved heart intertwined in a vine of roses. Despite the threat of Nazi occupation that constantly hangs over her Czech village, Katarina is looking forward to her birthday party with great anticipation. But when her dream of a grand day is squashed, all Katarina wants to do is escape. Seventeen-year-old Josef is a young scholar who knows that tradition dictates that marriage be arranged for him. As a member of one of the few Jewish families living in Lidice, Josef just wants to survive in an intolerant world of hate and prejudice. But when he sees the beautiful Katarina reading in a corner of the town square by herself every day, he cannot resist her magnetic pull. He finally approaches her, and the teenagers soon realize they are meant to be together, despite the danger lurks in the shadows. The Death of a Rose is the unforgettable historical tale of two young people who risk everything for love during the Nazi occupation of their tiny village.